Painting Little Devils
by BlackMetallic
Summary: Jason and Elizabeth have moved on in their lives with other people but both are discontent. When they reconnect as friends will they find with each other what they've been missing?
1. Discontentment

**Title:** _Painting Little Devils_

**Chapter One:** _Discontentment_

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own any of the characters or anything General Hospital related. I receive no money for this._

* * *

Elizabeth Spencer frowned as she drove her beat up silver Toyota sedan down the deserted streets of Port Charles. It seemed as if everyone –_ everyone_ was safe at home still in bed while she was out in the early morning hours driving as if all hell itself was on her tail.

Her husband, Lucky was at home complaining about a head cold he had caught at the police station. For some reason he had expected Elizabeth to wait on him hand and foot. She was, after all a nurse, right? Surely she could take care of her husband on her one free day. It didn't matter that she couldn't remember the last time she had a day all to herself without her husband or her adorable little son in tow. She'd taken each available shift she could get at the hospital because the Spencer's greatly needed the money to pay off their massive bills.

Her son Cameron was busy spending the next few days with his doting grandmother Audrey Hardy and Lucky was safely in bed drowning in self pity and cough syrup. It wasn't as if she were abandoning her family. Every woman needs a little R and R now and then, she assured herself. Lucky was blowing his illness way out of proportion anyway. Whenever he got sick he turned from a twenty-six year old adult into a complaining five year old. She had assured him she would return in time to make him a nice steaming bowl of chicken soup for dinner so all he needed to do while she was away was sleep and rest. He had whined, begging her to stay but she had just smiled, reminded him once more about the dinner plans and left.

It wasn't right that she still felt so damned guilty about it all. She knew she wasn't really being cruel about leaving Lucky, but he sure made her feel that way. He wasn't doing it intentionally but…she felt like she never really got to be Elizabeth anymore. She was wife, mother, and nurse but never her own person. She felt that everyone deserved some time alone and she was in dire need of some for herself. If that was being selfish, then so be it.

Days earlier Elizabeth had gone into an art supply store, pushing her son Cameron in his stroller with her into the building. It had been ages since she had last been in the place. She had stopped painting shortly after her relationship with Ric had ended…well, the first time it had ended. When they had reconciled all thoughts of painting and art went out the window. She had been so caught up in her ex-husband's life and planning for Cameron's birth that she had put it on a short hiatus that had somehow morphed into a long one. But once back in her old familiar haunt, she gathered her bearings and went straight for the oil paints, followed quickly by the canvases.

Elizabeth knew that their budget could barely afford it but she had replenished all her art supplies, buying a multitude of colors, brushes and a brand new medium sized canvas. This was, after all merely for practicing. Cameron, who was almost always a well behaved little boy, had smiled and looked on curiously at the wonders in the store. She had put the purchased supplies in the trunk and only took them out and into the apartment before her husband had arrived home from work. She really didn't know why she hid the fact that she intended to paint again from Lucky. It didn't make any sense to not tell him but something inside her urged her to keep it a secret so she did just that.

The sun's rays were peeking just above the horizon as drove down the road past Kelly's diner and tried to think of a good place to go to begin painting. She no longer had her studio but she could think of only one other place. The light there would be amazing, she thought as she turned left onto Van Ness Street. It was a place that always made her feel safe and as far as she knew, it would have very little traffic there at this hour. In fact, she doubted anyone even went there at all anymore. It was probably too early in the day, she thought.

The place in her mind was none other than Vista Point.

As she had suspected, Vista Point was empty as can be, well, not counting the birds in the trees above. She took out the large tote bag that held her painting supplies from the seat beside her and removed her blank canvas as well as the folding stand out of the trunk. Lucky had been in bed all morning so it had been easy enough to remove the items from the closet (where she had hidden them) and take them out to her car with her.

Blessedly, the night prior when she had dropped Cam off at his grandmother's she had found the old box where she had stored several of her supplies after her divorce with Ric. Everything seemed to be in working order…some of the brushes had gotten smashed while in storage but luckily she had purchased several new ones when she had been in the store.

She carried the supplies with her down the little dirt path that led to the point and looked around her once she reached the area. There was still no sign of anyone. With a smile, she walked down the few steps that led to a bench where people could sit and look out at the view. Elizabeth placed her bag, canvas and wooden stand on the park bench beside her and turned to survey the landscape beyond. The city looked beautiful at that time of morning. The Harborview Towers glittered in the rising sun like a diamond. Her smile broadened.

Her thoughts strayed to all the time she had spent up at Vista Point, just looking out at the city below. She had never felt as tranquil as she did then, other than the times of silence when her son lay sleeping peacefully in her arms.

She decided at that moment to paint the city below, just as a practice. She needed to get her feet wet, so to speak and this was the perfect thing to reinitiate her into the world of art. Humming under her breath, she began to set up her supplies, ready to paint the world.

* * *

Jason Morgan was having the day from hell. His fiancée, Sam McCall was, once again crying. It got to the point where she seemed to cry at the drop of a hat, her dark brown eyes sorrowful, her cheeks wet from escaping tears.

"Jay-son," she whined, wiping at the snot running out of her nose with her shirt sleeve. Jason cringed, not just at her actions but at the plaintive way she said his name, drawing out the first syllable to unnatural lengths. "Why are you leaving now?" she asked as she followed him to the front door of their penthouse in Harborview Towers.

He found he couldn't breathe. With all of Carly's new drama, Sonny becoming irate over some business dealing or the other, Emily upset over her ruined marriage and Sam crying because she felt Jason wasn't paying enough attention to her…he was at his wits end. He needed fresh air. He needed to feel the road crunch under the wheels of his motorcycle as he sped along the highway at unnatural speeds. He needed…to be free.

"_You make me feel free." _

It was strange to think of _her _at that precise moment. Well, maybe not really. The bike, whether he admitted it aloud or not, always reminded him of her and the time they spent together. The two were somehow indelibly intertwined in his mind. They fit together. They just felt _right_.

As he quickly shrugged into the black leather of his jacket he called something dismissive over his shoulder to Sam, saying he needed to handle some business. That answer seemed to upset her even more and she asked why he was avoiding her.

Jason steeled himself for the sight of his petite fiancée drenched in tears and turned. "I just need to handle a few things." It was true. Sonny needed Jason to take care of a few matters down at the warehouse. Granted they were things that could wait another day but Jason liked to get the business dealings squared away as soon as possible. Sam knew that about him.

Her bottom lip quivered and she tugged at the hem of the oversized long sleeved t-shirt of his that she wore to bed the night before. "Okay. Will you come back soon?" She asked, fresh tears welling up in her eyes. Jason nodded once, turned and left the apartment, taking a deep breath once he was safely closed away in the elevator that would take him to the lower level parking garage.

Once again he thought of _her_ and the way her sapphire eyes used to light up when he let her steer the motorcycle on the cliff roads. She liked those the best, she had told him. She lived for the turns.

He frowned as he straddled the bike and started the engine, revving it a bit before taking off. He didn't want to think about her at that moment. He wanted to clear his mind of everything. He wanted to let go for a while.

He found that he too wanted to feel free.

* * *

The azure color that Elizabeth had purchased at the art supply store was a shade or two too light for what she needed. She placed the paintbrush handle between her teeth as she grabbed a few tubes of color and set about blending the perfect shade of blue for the sky.

She needed an ice blue like the way worn denim looked right before it began to fray, like a robin's egg, like…Jason Morgan's eyes.

The tube of paint nearly slipped from her fingers at that thought. Where had that come from? Jason was someone she rarely had contact with these days. They rarely noticed each other anymore, just offering polite smiles every now and then or just sharing brief, casual conversations. His eyes were not something she needed to think of…even though she could recall perfectly how they seemed to soften in color when he smiled…and that shade they turned was the exact color she needed to highlight the sky. "Damn," she muttered around the paintbrush in her mouth.

Staring blankly at her unfinished canvas she thought of Jason. There was no particular memory that crossed her mind, just the vision of him in her mind's eye. He looked good in that electric blue color, that made his eyes seem unnaturally blue. He used to own a t-shirt that she thought suited his blond good looks to a T.

What was she doing? She came to Vista Point to paint, _not_ to fantasize about her ex…no matter how tempting the thought was. With a determined sigh she gripped the tube of dark blue paint in her hand and concentrated on squeezing out the right amount onto her palette and began to blend the various shades of blue together. Jason was her past. She was in her present with Lucky and she intended to live her future with him as well.

She attacked the canvas with her loaded blue paintbrush in an almost brutal fashion, slashing the little ribbons of pigment throughout the skyline above the blurred edges of one of the buildings. Pulling her brush back she surveyed the results and bit her lip.

It still needed _something_ but she had no idea what exactly that was. Her mouth turned down slightly at the corners. "Hell," she muttered to herself, absently glancing down to her black banded wristwatch. It was later in the day than she had thought. Lucky would be waiting for her to return and make him that soup.

With one last glance at the unfinished canvas, she began to pack up her supplies but decided to wait a while longer before putting the canvas in the car. She wanted to give her latest additions to the portrait time to dry a little before she headed back to the responsibilities of home.

* * *

Jason had gone into the warehouse straight away and immediately met a startled Benny in the corridor that led to the offices.

"Jason? What are you doing here on your day off?" The balding older man asked with a touch of fatherly concern.

Jason's handsome face fell into a frown. "I wanted to take care of that paperwork and get it out of the way."

The accountant's eyes narrowed and he couldn't quite hide his surprise at Jason's behavior. "But I told Mr. Corinthos it wasn't anything that needed to be handled right away," he informed the younger man that he couldn't help but have a tender spot for. Sonny valued Benny's advice and regarded him with respect, the highest honor Corinthos could give. Benny respected Sonny as a no-nonsense business man, even if some of the actions his boss committed were not exactly to his taste. But Benny dealt with numbers, not body counts and as long as that happened, he would say and do nothing to betray Corinthos' trust in his ability as an accountant. Sonny's personal life was his own affair.

But it was different when it came to the boys; the men under the mob boss' employ. Jason, Max, Francis and Marco were like the sons he never had. The men, excluding Jason often came to him for the advice that only an older, seasoned man could give. He listened to their worries and tried to give the sound advice that he would have appreciated if he were in their shoes. He liked them all equally except perhaps Jason had always been one of Benny's favorite people. The enforcer told it like it was and didn't bullshit around with the facts to spare others and he always did what he wanted, not bothering to over-think it. The accountant's admiration of the young man had not diminished with time. The two of them had always had a very honest relationship and Benny knew Jason would not be offended by a little advice.

"You need time off, Jason," Benny began again in a soft voice, leaning closer to his friend and putting an arm around the young man's shoulders. Together they walked toward Jason's office. "Take Sam out or go have some time _away_ from here. Everyone needs a day or two off every once and a while. You'll spread yourself too thin otherwise." Benny's eyes were filled with concern. Work had a way of creeping into every aspect of one's life until it obliterated everything in its path, including one's personal life. Benny knew all too well about that and he didn't want the same to happen to his boys.

Jason nodded once at Benny's advice. He respected Benny's opinion and knew the older man meant only to look out for him. "After I take care of the papers, I'll quit for the day."

Somehow Benny did not appear quite mollified but said no more on the subject and after a quick farewell, he left the enforcer to his work.

Once Jason completed the monotonous paperwork, he did as he promised Benny and left the warehouse taking off on his bike to unknown parts. He drove along the streets of Port Charles at a few miles per hour over the maximum speed limit. Once he reached the twisting cliff roads he could really let go. There was a small possibility that the cops would be there and give him a ticket but Jason didn't care. He had more than enough money to pay for it _and_ a higher insurance premium.

The bike growled as he pressed on the gas, speeding up and up into the mountains and farther into freedom. He took a deep breath and was grateful that he had gotten time away from Sonny, Sam, and Carly at least for a while. He loved them all but it felt good to just feel the wind on his face and listen to the roar of the motor and the road crunch beneath his wheels. It cleared his mind of everything but the road.

A small silver sedan sped past Jason on one of the turns and for a second, his eyes registered a sweep of pale skin and dark chestnut hair. _Could it be…_? The driver was headed back to PC and for a moment Jason swore it was Elizabeth that he saw in the driver's seat but both vehicles were going far too fast for him to be sure. _If it was her, what was she doing up there? _But as soon as he thought it, he already knew the answer.

Vista Point.

He smiled as he drove farther up the twisting road. He couldn't help but feel a strange sort of happiness at the thought of Elizabeth at Vista Point even if the person he passed in the car was not her. It had been…what was it that she had called it? His spot. _Their_ spot. So many conversations had taken place up there, sitting on the benches, hashing out their differences or just talking about absolutely nothing.

When he came to the fork in the road that led to either Vista Point or father up the mountain, without hesitating Jason headed to the Point and realized as he turned that he hadn't felt this happy in weeks.

* * *

_TBC..._

_Thoughts and feedback are very welcome_. :)


	2. Plans Go Awry

**Title:** _Painting Little Devils_

**Chapter Two:**_ Plans Go Awry_

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own any of the characters or anything General Hospital related. I receive no money for this._

* * *

Days after her trip to Vista Point, Elizabeth stood in her cramped kitchen pouring over the ancient cookbook her grandmother had loaned her, silently cursing herself for ever thinking she could attempt to cook. Lucky had slowly gotten better and was currently lounging on the living room couch in jeans and a hooded sweatshirt watching re-runs of _21 JumpStreet_, commenting on how the police procedures were all wrong.

"It's a TV show, Lucky," Elizabeth called out to him after he claimed Officer Hanson had to be the worst cop ever. "Plus it's not like people tuned in to watch it for believability. It was all about Johnny Depp." But she knew Lucky was not listening so she turned back to the recipe for New England Pot Roast and frowned at the directions. "I should just stick to the basics: fudge, brownies and hot chocolate," she murmured under her breath. She had placed the meat in a deep pan and was trying to decide what to she should do next when there was a frantic knocking at the door.

"I got it," Lucky called out and Elizabeth listened as he trod across their tiny apartment to open the door. "Oh hey, Em," he said in a jovial fashion.

Disgusted with her lack of progress, Elizabeth pushed the cookbook aside on the counter and walked into the living room to meet a somber looking Emily. Lucky had ushered their friend to the couch and sat beside her, looking at her with concern. "Em," Elizabeth said as she sat on the other side of Emily. "What's wrong?"

"Oh everything!" Emily cried dramatically. "I'm so sorry about just coming over. I usually go to Jason with stuff like this but he's the last person I can talk to right now." All it took was a little prodding from Lucky to get Emily going as she launched into a long drawn out story about how she felt torn over her feelings for Sonny even though she knew her brother did not approve.

"Jason thinks you're making a mistake?" Lucky demanded in an overly modulated voice and Elizabeth silently thanked Heaven that Cameron was staying at her grandmother's for the evening. "Jason's judgement is usually something I don't trust but for once I agree with him. Sonny's far too dangerous."

Emily turned hurt brown eyes to Elizabeth. "Do you think so too?"

Elizabeth sighed and opened to mouth to respond but Lucky cut her off. "Of course she does. She used to be friends with him but realized he was such a danger to everyone who surrounded him that she backed off." Elizabeth frowned at her husband's words. She thought no such thing. Sonny was someone she deeply admired and respected even if his business dealings were...questionable at best. There had been a point in time, long ago, when Sonny had been a valued and trusted friend of hers. Time, however had taken its toll on their friendship and now they rarely spoke but she harbored no ill will toward her old friend. She had gotten over any feelings of resentment she felt toward Sonny or Jason for excluding her from certain dealings. Time had a way of healing those wounds.

Lucky continued before Elizabeth could refute his words: "Trust us, you should get away while you still can. He will only hurt you," Lucky said in a stern voice as he waved his hand in the air for emphasis. "Look at the list of women he already has hurt, Em. It's got to be a mile long at least."

Emily instantly jumped to defend Sonny, causing Lucky to nearly shout how dangerous the mobster was once again, even going so far to mention the deaths of several of the women he had been involved with. "Elizabeth and I think he's too dangerous. We know what kind of a man Sonny is..." Lucky did not say but it was implied what kind of a man Jason was as well. But Lucky knew better than to besmirch Jason's character to his loyal little sister.

Elizabeth stared off to the side, contemplating her part in this conversation. It irked her that Lucky spoke for her when he didn't even know he feelings on the subject and assumed that she would agree with his opinions.

Slowly she stood, noting that neither Emily nor Lucky turned to notice when she did. She walked into the kitchen, debated for a moment about what she should do about the dinner then decided to put the roast into a zippered plastic storage bag in the refrigerator. After she washed her hands and cleaned up the pots and utensils she had planned to use, she closed her Gram's cookbook and with it under one arm, she went into the living room once more to get her coat.

Lucky was lecturing Emily as if she were a misbehaving child and Emily listened, pouting slightly and emphatically shaking her head and blinking rapidly to keep the tears at bay. Neither noticed as Elizabeth pulled on her thick burgundy coat and draped her black scarf about her neck. She walked to the door, grabbed her purse from the small wooden table next to the door and turned to face her husband and her best friend. "I'm going to pick up Cam. I'll be back in a while."

Both faces that turned to look her way were full of surprise. "Um, sure," Lucky said, looking confused. "How long will you be?"

Elizabeth gave a noncommittal shrug. "I don't know. I think I might stay a bit and chat with Gram."

Her husband frowned and gave a quick glance over his shoulder at the abandoned kitchen. "You're not cooking then?" At his wife's curt no, he stood and reached for his wallet in the back pocket of his jeans. "Can you run by Kelly's and get us something to eat?" He handed her a twenty dollar bill. "You know what I like and what Em likes too."

Elizabeth glanced down at her friend's tear-streaked face and Emily nodded, as if to give her approval of the plan. "Fine." Elizabeth grabbed the money from her husband's outstretched hand and left, slamming the door behind her. It gave her little satisfaction. In fact, it made her feel like a spoiled brat who didn't get what she wanted. It's not like they really meant to exclude her, right? Lucky didn't mean to try to speak for her, he just –

She pushed the thought aside. What had happened to her? When had she become someone she didn't even recognize anymore? There had been a time when she would have interrupted Lucky, telling him exactly what she thought and felt. The old Elizabeth wouldn't have stood for Lucky doing the things that he had been doing lately.

As she climbed into the driver's seat of her sedan, she thought of all her actions in the past few weeks. She had been behaving like a secretive teenager, running off to paint every chance she got without telling Lucky about it. Did it really matter if he found out? She thought of her husband and how his behavior lately had changed. If she told him about the painting, he would just tell her she was wasting her time. They needed money. She knew he would say that she needed to focus on working and paying the bills not wasting the hard earned cash on such frivolous things like painting.

She had taken to hiding her supplies at her grandmother's house as well as all her current works. Audrey had turned Elizabeth's old bedroom into a home office but Elizabeth was slowly turning it into a makeshift art gallery. Elizabeth had even found some older paintings up in the attic of her grandmother's home and had pulled them out and arranged them in the bedroom on all the easels she could find. Others rested on the carpet, leaning against the wall for support. Most were landscapes and the occasional still life. And then there was the painting she did for Jason, _The Wind_. She never got around to giving it to him, or even finishing it. Part of her did not ever want to part with it.

It had been on one of her sojourns to the dusty attic that she had come across an old box of her sketches for an art class she had taken years before. What she had found right on top of the stack of papers was a pencil drawing that she had not seen in years. She remembered the assignment clearly; the class had been commissioned to each draw a figure in motion and Elizabeth had done just that. She had chosen to draw Jason Morgan shooting a game of pool. She had captured him leaning over the billiard table, ready to take a shot. She had almost forgotten about that sketch, how hard she had labored to get the exact angle of his cheekbone and the right proportions for his elegant hands.

It had been on impulse for her to take the box of sketches down from the attic to the office. She had pulled the top drawing out of the box with the penciled words 'Jason in Motion' at the bottom and tacked it up on the magnetic board Gram had put in the room above her computer desk.

Elizabeth had stared at the drawing and remembered the day she had sketched Jason at Jake's. He had shown her how to play pool by standing right behind her, leaning over her helping her line up the shot. She had never been more aware of another person in her life. It felt as if Jason were a part of her as they moved as one. Then Lucky had arrived and yelled and demanded that she leave. She had refused, saying he had no right to tell her what to do.

Elizabeth wondered what had happened to that girl, the one who stood up for herself, the one who called Lucky on his behavior when he acted like an ass. Elizabeth wanted more than anything to find that girl again. Maybe she would be able to figure out what to do.

But as she pulled to a stop in front of her grandmother's home, Elizabeth was pondering just that. Had she changed that much after marrying Lucky? Had she become some sort of Stepford wife, doing his bidding without question? She knocked at the front door briefly and tried the knob, turning it and letting herself in. "Gram?" She called out into the vast house. "Gram, it's me."

Audrey Hardy walked out of the living room into the entry way and smiled at her granddaughter. "Oh, hello dear. I wasn't expecting you until later." She walked to Elizabeth and helped her out of her coat and scarf.

"Change of plans," Elizabeth murmured, trying to not sound as bitter as she felt. Audrey eyed her suspiciously but blessedly said nothing. "Where's Cam?" she asked the older woman.

Audrey gestured towards the room she had emerged from. "He's playing in the living room. LuLu came over for a while and played a few games with him. She's such a sweet girl."

Elizabeth smiled at the mention of her sister-in-law. "Well, I'm going to go say hi and then..." she cast a surreptitious glance at her grandmother, "then I was hoping I could go up and paint a bit?"

Audrey, who was glad to have more time with her great-grandson and her granddaughter, smiled broadly. "I told you that you could come here and paint as often as you wished. I love having you two here," she hugged her granddaughter but pulled away and quickly added, "Are you staying for dinner then?" Elizabeth nodded and asked if that would be all right. "Of course it is. Will...Lucky be joining us?"

Elizabeth turned away and set her purse on the hall table, avoiding the shrewd eyes of her Gram. "Um, no. He's – he's still resting and he is actually...probably still lecturing Emily as we speak."

"Lecturing Emily? Why on earth would – ?"

"It's a long story, Gram," she told the older woman, casting a glance at the entrance of the living room and seeing Cameron sitting on the rug surrounded by a sea of toys. "I'll tell you about it at dinner but let me go say hi to Cam first, okay?" She flashed a warm smiled at Audrey and was rewarded with an equally loving smile from the older woman. And together they went into the living room to see Elizabeth's son.

Cam gave a delighted laugh at seeing his mother then when the novelty of seeing her wore off, he turned back to his pile plastic barn animals but not before he picked up his stuffed bright blue Cookie Monster and shoved the monster's arm into his mouth with a delighted giggle.

* * *

Jason had not been able to stop thinking about Elizabeth since the day he had thought he had passed her on the road to Vista Point.

He had gone up to the Point and had looked out at the city, wondering if he had missed Elizabeth by mere minutes. Once there, he had sighed and had taken deep breaths, trying to regain that sense of calm. There was just something about that place that made him feel at peace. Sure, it was crawling with memories – good and bad but Jason believed that each experience had molded him into the man he was today and he liked to think that his time with Elizabeth had made him a better person. Up at the Point, he had loved to hear her talk about her life and all the places she wanted to go, the things she wanted to accomplish. She had so many dreams. He wondered if she ever got to fulfill any of them since they stopped their talks.

The only bad thing was that the last time he had seen Elizabeth at Vista Point things had been strained at best. He had been with his ex Courtney and she had been with Lucky. They had not even spoken to each other. Courtney had prattled on nervously, trying to fill the awkward silence while Elizabeth, still angry with him for not sharing with her, had avoided his gaze and looked pained at the whole scenario.

But that had been the low point and he was not the type to live in the past. What was done was done and obsessing about 'what ifs' always seemed a pointless pastime. He was just grateful that his relationship with Elizabeth had repaired enough for them to become friends again, even if they were more casual friends than anything else. It was a start.

Jason had taken the cliff road back to Port Charles and his responsibilities after his trip to Vista Point. Sam had been waiting for him and had thrown herself into his arms, declaring how happy she was he came back so soon. He patted her back and wondered when she had gotten so damned clingy, or maybe she had always been that way and he had never noticed or it had never bothered him before.

In the days following his trip to Vista Point, he had gone to the warehouse, taken care of some threatening people for Sonny, been the voice of reason for Carly and her latest scheme, played catch with Michael, played his usual Thursday night poker game with Benny and the guys, and spent time with Sam. It was the same old thing.

Sam liked to be held and reassured that he did indeed love her. It had been endearing at first. She was so fragile emotionally. He had been glad to tell her how much he loved her but lately it had become irritating and her cloying was driving him insane. He spent more and more time handling the paperwork at the warehouse. Benny would look on disapprovingly but said nothing more about Jason taking time off. The accountant knew the younger man was running away from something or someone and had no intention of meddling any more than he already had.

Jason sat behind the desk in his office at the warehouse and heaved a deep sigh. He had finished the last of the paperwork for the day and was now free to go home.

Home.

_Hell_, he thought. He had promised Sam he would spend the evening with her. She had something planned, but he did not know what. Probably some dinner then who knew what. She kept trying to get him to take scented bubble baths with her. He _did not_ do bubble baths – scented or otherwise.

Deciding to call it a day, he headed out to his motorcycle in the parking lot outside the warehouse. He straddled the machine, started and revved the engine, taking off back to the Harborview Towers, taking his time in doing so.

When he unlocked and opened the door to the apartment, he saw Sam waiting on the couch, dressed in a tight black dress with her midnight hair done up elaborately for the evening. "Jason," she smiled and strode across the room to him, throwing her arms around his neck. "I'm so glad you're back. Are you ready for what I have planned?"

Jason smiled down at her. "Yes." He paused, gently extracting her arms from around his neck. "What are we doing tonight?" Slowly he began shrugging out of his leather jacket when his cell phone rang before Sam could respond to his question.

"Don't answer it," Sam begged. But Jason shot her a _you-know-I can't_ look and dug the phone out of his jacket pocket. He glanced at the caller ID for a nanosecond before he opened the phone and held it up to his ear. "Sonny?"

"_Jason, we have a situation," _Sonny said in strained tones

Jason frowned and shifted his weight a bit. Sam was eyeing him warily, her mouth drawn into a firm line. "What do you need me to do?" he asked his boss.

Sonny sighed and continued in a low, raw sounding voice. _"That son of a bitch Rodriguez has made a move onto my territory, breaking the truce we made last year. I need to send a message to him about keeping his word."_

Jason turned his back on Sam, facing the front door instead of her sour looking expression. "Tell me."

"_I need you to shake things up."_

At Sonny's words, Jason closed his eyes and sighed. "Do you want me to – ?"

"_Damn it Jason!" _Sonny yelled into the phone, losing his temper._ "This bastard has gone too far. He broke his word and has brazenly moved into my holdings. He has to be stopped."_

"Do you want me to handle this now?" Jason could just see Sam's face if Sonny said yes. She would not be a happy girl.

"_I know you had plans with Sam – "_

"She'll understand," Jason interrupted, not quite believing his own words. "I'll call you when it's done."

"_Thanks Jason."_ Then Sonny hung up.

Jason cursed under his breath as he hit the end button on his cell phone. Slowly, he turned to face his fiancee, knowing that she would not be happy with the news. One look at her frowning face and he knew he was wrong.

Sam wasn't just unhappy, she was completely livid

* * *

_--Reviews and thoughts are more than welcome. :)_

**A/N:** _I hate Sam. A lot. I find it hard to write her without letting that hatred seep through. She's just the most awful, boring character ever created so I guess that 'blah' factor shows in my depiction of her. Okay sorry, I guess I just needed to vent._


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